


Feather of Fire

by Maethoriel_Artemis



Series: Flight of the Firebird [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: BAMF Original Time Lady Character(s), Crossover, Flerkin, Goose the cat- Freeform, Marvel - Freeform, doctor who - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25524649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maethoriel_Artemis/pseuds/Maethoriel_Artemis
Summary: Ever wondered how Goose ended up travelling with the Phoenix? Well wonder no more as this prequel will tell you. There are plenty of laughs and action and Captain Marvel. (Prequel to Gallifrey’s Firebird).
Series: Flight of the Firebird [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888915
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

“Looks like it’s time to go”, the 6th Phoenix said staring at her glowing hands. She closed her eyes, threw out her arms, allowing the regeneration process to take over. The orange-gold energy streamed out of her body, changing it into her 7th form. When it fade the Time Lady stumbled back into the console. She turned around to look at herself in the scanner. “Huh, about time I was blonde”, she remarked, touching the strands. And she was definitely shorter but not by much. Suddenly the TARDIS lurched, startling the Time Lady. “Oh no, no, no!” the Phoenix exclaimed rushing about, trying to stabilise her ship. She yelped as the ship lurched ever more violently this time causing her to be thrown to the carpet. The Phoenix yelled as the TARDIS spun out of control. She slid toward the doors and managed to grab hold of the railing, stopping herself from falling through the open doors. Unfortunately a sharp pain went through her which made her involuntarily let go of the railing. The Phoenix fell out of the TARDIS and tumbled uncontrollably through the air, screaming.

The Time Lady landed in front of Vers, startling her. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“Well, I was just thrown out of my TARDIS…” the Phoenix jumped up, gaping at the sky “My TARDIS! She threw me out!” she shook her head “no. no. Don’t panic it’s not the end of the world. Well, it could be the end of the world, but one thing at a time”. Vers frowned at her utterly confused by her ramblings. Was this some new Skrull trick?

“Who are you?” she demanded “are you a Skrull?”

The Phoenix blinked at her “What? No of course I’m not”, she replied “why would you…” she trailed off finally noticing the armor the woman was wearing “oh, you’re Kree Starforce! Then no, I assure you I’m not one of those shape shifty things”, she promised.

“Prove it”, Vers challenged, raising her fists, the pair of them glowing with energy making the Phoenix take a step back.

“Ok, take it easy”, she said “I’m…” the Time Lady frowned when she couldn’t recall her own name “I’m…” she tried again “I don’t know”, she admitted.

“Then you are a Skrull. A poor one at that”, Vers stated.

“No! Wait!” the Phoenix cried holding up her hands to block Vers’ attack when the Kree pulled her fist back. Vers stopped when she saw the Time Lady’s hands glow similarly to hers. She knew then she wasn’t a Skrull. They couldn’t mimic powers.

“You’re not one”, she stated “so what are you?”

“I’m a Time Lady from the Planet Gallifrey”, the Phoenix replied lowering her hands “I’ve recently regenerated and was thrown out of my ship. And unfortunately I cannot remember anything else. Maybe once my mind and body have settled. Things still feel like they’re shifting around a bit”.

“And the glowing hands?” Vers questioned “What powers do you have?”

“I…” the Phoenix frowned “I don’t know” she let out a frustrated noise “this is seriously gonna bother me”, she grumbled, hand reaching for the phoenix necklace around her neck.

“I’m going to need something to call you”, Vers said “can’t work with someone who’s nameless”.

“Wait, you want to work together?” the Phoenix asked, confused. Normally she wouldn’t be so slow but her mind hadn’t fully settled yet.

“Of course. I doubt there’s anyone better to work with since these humans are clueless about Skrulls…and aliens in general”, Vers replied “so how about it?”

“It’s the only thing I can do until I figure out a way to find my TARDIS”, the Phoenix answered “and what exactly am I helping you with? Tracking down Skrulls?”

“Not as such. I’m looking Dr Wendy Lawson, she cracked the code on lightspeed engines. I have to find her before the Skrulls do”, Vers explained.

“Shouldn’t be too hard”, the Phoenix said, running a finger over her necklace.

“What’s that?” Vers asked, nodding to it.

“Oh, it’s a necklace with a phoenix on it”, the Time Lady said “and no I don’t know who gave it to me”.

“Nix”, Vers suddenly said “that’s what I’ll call you”. The Phoenix nodded. Yes, she liked the name. It’ll do until she remembered her own name. “So, Nix where do you think we could start in finding Dr Lawson?” Vers queried.

“Best bet? An internet café”, the Phoenix replied “which is good cos I could seriously do with a cuppa. It’ll settle my body and head. Which should help my memory to return”.

“That sounds like a plan”, Vers agreed.

\----------------

 _That’s so much better_ Nix thought sitting back after she had downed her second cup of tea. She can feel her body and mind start to properly settle. She glanced at a man who was staring at her, mouth agape “Can I help you?” she asked.

“You just downed two hot cups of tea”, he stated.

“10 out of 10 for observation”, the Phoenix sassed. She dropped some money onto the counter and hopped off her stool. The Time Lady wandered over to where Vers was slowly typing away on the computer. “Mmm…not sure Pegasus will give you what you want”, she remarked “since it’ll mostly come up with stuff to do with the mythical flying horse. I suggest you try something else… something that isn’t from a myth”.

“You mean like Pancho’s Bar?” Vers suggested.

“Exactly like that”, the Phoenix agreed. Vers typed it into the search bar and the top result came up with the location of the bar. She stuck her hand into her pocket and rooted around until her hand closed around the thing she was looking for. She pulled it out and typed in the address of the bar. “Alright, we just follow this and we’ll get to Pancho’s. Just need a ride”, the Time Lady said.

“Then let’s go get one”, Vers said. She got up from the chair and the pair left the café.

“We also need to get you a change of clothes”, the Phoenix added “the suit is cool and all but its gonna draw unwanted attention to yourself”. Just as she said that, a bike pulled up nearby and its rider eyed them. Or more specifically Vers.

“Nice scuba suit”, he remarked. The Phoenix glanced at Vers with an ‘I told you so’ look.

“It’s for a sci-fi convention”, she offered. The biker didn’t say anything in response to that, he just got off his bike and walked into the internet café. “Now we have a ride” she nodded to a nearby store where a couple of mannequins were outside with some ladies clothing “and you’ve got some choices to make”.

Vers walked over to the mannequins and after considering them, she chose her clothes. "What about you, Nix?" She asked, turning to her.

The Time Lady stepped up to them, running her fingers over one of the jackets. Nothing seemed to scream the new her. Then again she didn't know who that was yet. "I'm going to stick with what I'm wearing". Yes, her clothes were a bit tattered but what else would you expect when falling several hundreds of feet?

She went back to the bike to wait for Vers to get dressed. The Phoenix closed her eyes, tilting her head to the sun. Vers walked back to the bike but stopped when she saw some kind of creature hovering around the Time Lady. "Nix!" she shouted. The Phoenix opened her eyes, startled and the creature vanished.

"Vers? You ok?" she asked concerned at the look on her face.

"You had something around you", Vers stated "some kind of creature". The Phoenix glanced around, even checking her back but there was nothing there. "It disappeared when you opened your eyes", Vers added.

"What did it look like?" The Phoenix asked.

"Well... like that", Vers replied pointing to her necklace. The Phoenix lifted it up and as she looked at it, her eyes widened. She gasped, falling back against the bike in shock. "Nix?" Vers asked taking a step toward her.

"That's my name", the Time Lady said so quietly, Vers didn't catch it.

"What?" she questioned.

"That's my name", the Phoenix repeated, louder "my name is the Phoenix. And I remember everything". She pushed herself away from the bike, taking out her GPS device that she’d rigged up from a few odds and ends. The Time Lady attached it to the handlebars “Let’s go find that bar”, she said hopping onto the said. Vers sat behind her and the Phoenix drove off.

\-------------------------------

It wasn’t long before they’d reached Pancho’s Bar. As they entered the building, Vers recalled the flashes she’d gotten while the Skrulls had delved into her mind. “You ok?” the Phoenix asked as the Kree warrior.

“Yeah, fine”, Vers replied. She walked over to a wall of framed photographs.

“Well, what do you know”, the Phoenix murmured spotting a Pegasus symbol on the tail of one of the fighter jets “Pegasus”.

“What can I get you two?” the Bartender asked appearing behind them.

“Where was this photograph taken?” Vers questioned.

“At an airport”, the Bartender answered, though he didn’t seem so sure.

“Where's Pegasus?” Vers queried.

“That's classified”, Fury replied coming into view from behind the bar “Not unlike the file I started on you”. The Bartender looked at the newcomer confused but decided to make himself scarce, allowing the trio to talk privately “But I see you changed it up a bit since then. Grunge is a good look for you. And I see you’ve made a new friend” Fury moved out from behind the bar “Are you Starforce too?” he asked the Phoenix.

The Time Lady shook her head “no, I’m a Time Lady”, she corrected “you can call me Nix”.

“A Time Lady”, Fury repeated “that some kind of royalty?”

“Nope. It’s my species”, the Phoenix explained “you look like you’ve had a rather rough day…Mr?” 

“Agent Fury”, Vers supplied and she nodded in thanks.

“It's cool”, Fury answered “You know, space invasion, big car chase, got to watch an alien autopsy. Typical 9 to 5”.

“That’s a normal Wednesday for me”, the Phoenix remarked and the corners of Fury’s mouth quirked up in a smile. 

“So you saw one?” Vers asked Fury.

“I was never one to believe in aliens. But I can't unsee that”, he replied.

“This is gonna get a little awkward but I gotta ask….” Vers started.

“You think I'm one of those green things”, Fury stated.

“They can look like anyone, can't be too careful”, the Phoenix said. It was true, neither of them had any clue if this was Agent Fury of whatever agency he was from. Doubtful it was UNIT. They were aware of aliens. Perhaps one of the 3 letter agencies? “What are you an agent of?” she questioned.

“SHIELD”, Fury answered, showing her his ID.

“That name sounds familiar”, the Phoenix said to herself “wasn’t one of its founders Peggy Carter?”

“It was”, Fury confirmed.

“I thought so”, the Phoenix said “Peggy was one amazing lady”.

“You knew her?” Fury asked, surprised but you don’t look old enough to know her”.

“I’m older than you think”, the Phoenix said “also a time traveller”.

Fury laughed “of course you are”, he said “after what I’ve seen today, I’ll believe almost anything”.

“This chat is nice but we need to get to the matter at hand”, Vers spoke up.

“Good point”, the Phoenix agreed “Skrulls can only recall recent memories so we’ll need to ask you about your past”. The three of them sat down at a table and the questioning began.

“Where were you born?” Vers asked.

“Huntsville, Alabama. But technically I don't remember that part”, Fury replied.

“Name of your first pet”, Vers said.

“Mr. Snuffers”, Fury told them.

Vers raised her brows “Mr. Snuffers?” she questioned, with amusement in her voice.

“That’s not so weird”, the Phoenix remarked “my best friend had a robot dog named K9. And I once rescued a little fire lizard named Bruni” Vers glanced at her “sorry, please continue”.

The Kree turned back to Fury “First job?”

“Soldier, straight out of high school. Got the ranks of full breed Colonel”, Fury explained “then I became a spy. Mainly in places like Belfast, Bucharest, Belgrade, Budapest…” the man grinned “I like the B’s, I can make them rhyme”.

“I’m liking you more an more”, the Phoenix remarked with a smile.

“What do you do now at SHIELD?” Vers asked. 

“Been riding a desk for the past few years, trying to figure out where our future enemies are coming from. Never occurred to me that they'd be coming from above”, Fury answered.

“Name a detail so bizarre a Skrull could never fabricate it”, Vers said. The Phoenix looked at her wondering why she wanted to know that. Fury had given them enough about his past that there was no way he was a Skrull.

“If toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it”, Fury said “You didn't need that did you?” he asked, realising that she was teasing him.

An amused smile appeared of Vers’ face “No. No, I didn't. But I enjoyed it”, she admitted.

“Ok. Your turn. Prove that you two aren’t Skrulls”, Fury challenged. Vers very calmly blasts energy out of her fists towards a jukebox on the opposite side of the room before resting her head back on her fist. Fury looked towards the jukebox, both concerned and confused.

“And how is that supposed to prove to me that you’re not a Skrull?” he questioned.

“It's a photon blast”, Vers replied.

“Skulls can’t replicate powers”, the Phoenix added “like hers…and mine”. She closed her eyes and after a moment a gold phoenix aura appeared around her. The bird moved away from the Time Lady, swooping around the room and then hovered over the Phoenix. She opened her eyes and the aura vanished. “That’s just one of the things it can do”, she said.

“I am not sure which one of those is cooler”, Fury stated, impressed by both.

“So a full-bred colonel turned spy turned SHIELD agent must have pretty high-security clearance”, Vers commented “Where's Pegasus?”

Fury looked toward the Phoenix who shrugged “Sorry, Fury. I’m with her on this. We need to know where it is”, she said “we have to find Dr Lawson before the Skrulls do”.

The man sighed “alright. I’ll take you to Pegasus”, he said.


	2. Chapter 2

“So the Skrulls are alien races which infiltrate and overtake alien planets. And you're a Kree, a race of noble warriors”, Fury asked Vers while he drove.

“Heroes. Noble warrior heroes”, Vers corrected.

“And you’re a time traveller”, Fury said to the Phoenix who was in the back seat, playing with a Rubik cube.

“Yep”, the Phoenix confirmed “I can also travel in space too…with my TARDIS” she stopped fiddling with the cube “gotta get her back from wherever she is first”, she added, mostly to herself.

“So um….what do Skrulls want with Dr. Lawson?” Fury questioned to the Kree when the Phoenix didn’t elaborate.

“They believe she developed a light speed engine at Pegasus”, Vers answered.

“Light speed engine?” Fury repeated “I've got to admit, that's not the craziest thing I've heard today”. _Two minutes in my ship and I’ll have you beat on crazy_ the Time Lady thought, deftly spinning the sections of the Rubik cube around.

“Well, it's still early”, Vers remarked.

“That it is”, the Phoenix agreed. She finished solving the Rubik cube and moved onto making tricks with her yellow yoyo.

“The Skulls want the engine, what do you want, Vers?” Fury asked her.

“To stop the Skrulls before they become unstoppable”, Vers replied.

“And...?” Fury questioned “Look, war is a universal language. I know a rogue soldier when I see one, you've got a personal stake in this”. Before Vers could answer, they arrived at a bunker where Pegasus was supposedly housed.

 _This is a government property, turn your vehicle around_ came through the speaker at the security gate.

“Nicholas Joseph Fury, Agent of SHIELD”, Fury said.

_Place your thumb on the pad. One moment_

Fury did as he was instructed. “Nicholas Joseph Fury, you have three names?” Vers asked “but you’ve only got one name”, she added to the Phoenix.

“Time Lady”, the blonde offered “so what you prefer to be called, Agent Fury?”

“Fury”, the man replied “Not Nicholas, not Joseph, not Nick. Just Fury”.

“I think I’m gonna call you Nick, from now on”, the Phoenix said putting the yoyo away.

“You better not”, Fury said warningly.

“You can’t stop me _Nick_ ”, the Time Lady said, sticking her tongue out rather childishly.

_You're cleared for access_

“Thank you”, Fury said, rather relieved. The gate in front of the bar opens and he drove down the driveway, into a tunnel. When the car reached the end, Fury pulled up next to a car and the trio got out. “Oh, hold up. You look like somebody's disaffected niece”, Fury said to Vers “Put that on” he tossed a grey baseball cap with SHIELD's logo at her.

“What is this?” she asked, gesturing towards the logo.

“It's the SHIELD logo”, Fury answered.

“You know, it’s not very covert having the logo on clothing”, the Phoenix remarked.

“And Vers was covert with her rubber suit?” Fury countered.

“That suit was bad ass”, the Phoenix shot back “besides she’s not from around here, Nick”. A security guard and two armed airmen approach them.

“How can I help you?” the security guard asked.

“We're agents of SHIELD”, Fury answered, handing his ID to the man. The Phoenix took out her psychic paper showing it to him as well. Fury was surprised to see that the Time Lady had SHIELD ID too. Maybe Peggy Carter had given it to her? If so why didn’t the Phoenix mention it before?

“We’re looking for a Dr. Wendy Lawson”, the Phoenix said lowering the leather wallet “Do you know her?”

The security guard gave Fury’s badge back to him and gestured across to a door “Follow me”, he said and they complied.

“Why didn’t you say you had a SHIELD badge?” Fury asked the Phoenix quietly as they walked.

“I don’t”, the Phoenix replied and showed him the psychic paper which she made sure that it was blank “psychic paper. I can make you see whatever I want”, she explained “very handy little thing”.

“You better not use it to get into SHIELD”, Fury said.

“I make no promises, Nick”, the Phoenix said “I may want to drop in from time to time”.

\-------------

“Why do I get the feeling we’re not going to be taken to see Lawson?” the Time Lady asked several minutes later, as she played with her yoyo. They’d been taken to an office where they were told to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

“That’s because we’re not”, Fury replied, standing up. He went to the door and tried to use the thumb pad by it. It blinked red. He sighed before reaching into his pocket to grab his pager.

“Is that a communicator?” Vers asked, noticing it. Fury walked across the room, typing it.

“Yeah. State-of-the-art two-way pager”, he answered.

“And just who are you paging?” the Phoenix questioned, brow raised, setting aside her yoyo. 

“My mom. Don't worry, I didn't mention either of you”, Fury replied. The Time Lady frowned at that. Yeah…she highly doubted that’s who he was paging. She hopped off the desk where she’d been perched and walked over to the door. “I don’t think you’re going to get the door open”, Fury said to her.

“You wanna bet?” the Phoenix asked, taking out her sonic, spinning it in her fingers. She flashed it over the thumb pad and it flickered green. “Ta da”, she said, smugly.

“You couldn’t have done that sooner?” Fury questioned.

“I could but I wanted to get my yoyo trick down first”, the Phoenix said, opening the door “after you, Vers”. The Kree walked out of the room, the Time Lady and Fury following. They took the elevator down to the 5th floor where the records were held. 

As the trio approached the records room, an ginger cat padded up to them. “Aw” the Phoenix cooed leaning down, petting the feline “always wanted to get a cat but you’re much cooler than that aren’t you?”

“You are the cutest little thing”, Fury added, fawning over the cat “And what's your name, huh? What's your name?” he noticed the tag around her neck ‘Goose’, cool name for a cool cat”. The Phoenix opened her mouth to correct him that she was actually a Flerken when Vers called to them.

“Fury, Nix”, Vers called from where she now stood by the records room.

“I'll be back”, Fury said, stroking Goose.

“You better not eat any of us”, the Phoenix added when he walked away. Goose just rubbed her head against the Time Lady’s fingers. The blonde hoped that meant she wasn’t going to do that.

"Looks like we'll need your stick thing again", Fury remarked.

"It’s a sonic screwdriver", the Phoenix corrected "and I think I'll let Vers take this one". The Kree grinned at her and shot energy out of her fist causing the handle and lock to disappear.

Fury stared at her "You just sat there. When all you had to do was…" he imitated Vers shooting the energy.

"I wanted to see what either of you would do", she stated simply. She walked into the records room with both Fury and the Time Lady. The lights flickered on row by row revealing a massive warehouse of shelves full of boxes. The Phoenix followed Vers and Fury past a few aisles until something caught her attention. A faint golden glow from a box on aisle marked with an 'F'.

The Time Lady walked down it, stopping at the box. Her breath hitched, seeing it was marked Firebird and her true name in Gallifreyan. She opened it to reveal a key...a TARDIS key. There was also something else in the box. "I thought you were lost", she murmured, gingerly picking up the second item in the box. She ran a gentle thumb over the red feather.

The Phoenix attached the feather to her necklace and gasped when she felt the power surge through her. A red-gold glow appeared around her and she rose off the floor, hovering a couple of inches above it.

 _“It’s your time, my little firebird”,_ a voice whispered to her.

“Mother”, the Phoenix breathed, tears pricking in her eyes. She never thought she’d be able to hear her mother’s voice again. She softly landed on the ground. Her hand went to the feather, a tear rolling down her cheek. She heard a meow and glanced behind her to see Goose standing there, eyeing her curiously. The Phoenix wiped away the tear and walked over to the Flerken. “You saw all of that, huh?” she remarked as the cat wound its way around her legs. She sat down and Goose plonked herself in her lap, purring. “Why I do get the feeling that you’re going to be tagging along with me when this is all over?” she asked “not that I don’t mind. Its has been getting kinda lonely in my ship” the Flerken just looked at her and mowed. The Phoenix laughed “Well, I’m glad you’re looking forward to it”, she said.

Suddenly Goose jumped off her lap, hissing at the end of the aisle. The Phoenix peered out to see several guys in tactical gear following a man in a suit. “Oh, fantastic”, the Time Lady grumbled. She hoped that Vers and Fury had seen them too and had made a quick exit. The Phoenix took out her retractable baton and watched the SWAT style guys peeled off one at a time, leaving the suit guy to go off on his own. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. While she was good…really good at combat, she didn’t like resorting to violence. Though sometimes, like now the situation called for it.

The Phoenix opened her eyes, their colour flaring red-gold for a moment before turning back to brown. She darted out and proceeded to take out the small army the suited guy had brought with him, one at a time. Then she came across Fury fighting it out with the guy in the suit. “Now you know, I don't really need these to see…” the man held up the glasses “But, they do kinda complete the look, he put them on, his voice changing, telling the Phoenix that he was a Skrull “Don't you think?”

The Time Lady threw her baton as hard as she could at the disguised man, knocking him back. “You talk too much”, she said, pulling Fury to his feet “Nick, run. Find Vers. I got this”. She moved forward, hands curling into fists.

“Nix I don’t think…” Nick started.

“Go!” the Phoenix shouted at him, her eyes shifting red-gold once more. Fury was startled by the change but did as she said.

“I’m not sure you’ll have better luck since you’re only human too”, Talos sneered.

The Phoenix laughed “I’m not human, Skrull”, she said, the phoenix aura starting to flare around her, much stronger than before thanks to the feather of her ancestor “I’m a Time Lady”. She ran at Talos and they started to fight. Several blows were exchanged before the Phoenix got the upper hand, using the aura to blast him backwards. The Time Lady then took off, Goose running next to her. 

“Nix up here!” Vers called to her. The blonde looked up to see a big hole in the ceiling. The Kree stuck a hand through it. The Phoenix scooped up Goose onto her shoulder before backing up slightly to take a running jump, grabbing hold of Vers’ hand. The warrior hauled her and the Flerken up.

“Thanks”, the Phoenix said to her. She then walked over to Fury, slapping him upside the head “Why the hell did you call them in!” she scolded, smacking him again “you stupid idiot!”

“Ow!” Fury cried “I know it was a mistake”.

“Ya think?” the Phoenix sassed “now, give me the pager”, she demanded, holding her hand out. Fury handed it over and she shoved it in her pocket “Now, we better get moving. We’re not safe here”.

“Agreed”, Vers said. The trio started running again. The Phoenix set Goose down so she could run on her own four paws. When the group reached a set of stairs, Agent Coulson appeared, his gun pointed at them. Vers was prepared to fight him but she didn’t have to as the man lowered his weapon, allowing all four of them to escape through the door behind them. 

They sprint out of the corridor before barricading the door behind them with a piece of metal. “There!” the Phoenix shouted, pointing to an aircraft.

“Do you know how to fly this thing?” Fury asked, settling into the chair behind the co-pilot’s where Vers decided to sit.

“I’m 746 years old”, the Phoenix stated “It’s safe to say I know how to fly a lot of aircraft, both alien and earth based”. She flicked a few switches, the engine roared to life and the wings extended out.

“That's what I'm talking about!” Fury cheered as the Time Lady expertly flew the plane out of underground tarmac area and over the open desert.

“Told you I knew how to fly it”, the Phoenix said.

“I’m more surprised that you’re 746”, Fury remarked.

“Well, if you remember I did say that I was older than I looked”, she reminded him.

“Yeah, but by not several centuries”, Fury stated.

“Time Lady”, the Phoenix just offered. Goose jumped into her lap and the Time Lady scratched her behind the ears with one hand while keeping the other on the controls.

“See anyone you know?” Vers asked passing back a photograph to Fury “Funny story... I arrived on Hala, near dead, no memory... That was six years ago”.

“So you think you're the pilot that went down with Dr Lawson”, Fury commented looking at the photograph.

“Wait, are you saying that you had a life, here on Earth?” the Phoenix asked Vers “blimey I missed quite a bit”.

“I don’t know for sure”, the Kree admitted “but the last person to see them alive can probably tell us”.

“Maria Rambeau”, Fury nodded.

“Where’s she at then?” the Phoenix asked.

“Louisiana”, Vers answered.

“I went there once to see a Mardi Gras festival”, the Phoenix said “that was really fun. Should stop by there again when I get a spare five minutes”.

“That agent, that stopped the Skrulls from fighting us...” Vers began.

“Coulson. New guy. Guess he doesn't hate me yet”, Fury remarked.

“Yeah well, give him time”, Vers said with a smile.

“I guess he had a feeling, went with his gut against orders”, Fury continued “It's a really hard thing to do. That's what keeps us human”.

“I get in trouble for that. A lot”, Vers confessed.

“And now I like you even more”, the Phoenix told her.

The Kree laughed “thanks”, she said.

“I guess it’s not standard Kree operating procedure, rescuing the guy how sold you out to the Skrulls”.   
  


“Well, I won't tell your boss if you don't tell mine”, Vers said making Fury laugh.

“If you guys do get into trouble, I’ll bail you out”, the Phoenix assured them.

“With your psychic paper?” Fury asked.

“More than likely”, the Phoenix replied “plus a few other tricks”.


	3. Chapter 3

Several hours later, the aircraft touched down on the road close to a Maria’s house. As the Phoenix exited, the TARDIS key she’d found started to heat up. “She’s here”, the Time Lady breathed.

“Where are you going?” Fury called as she started to run.

“To find my ship!” she called back “I won’t be long!”

The Phoenix found her TARDIS in a small clearing. She tilted her head in confusion at what she was seeing. It seemed her ship was struggling to decide what form to take. The Time Lady put the key in the lock and tried to turn it but it wouldn’t budge. “You still rebuilding, aren’t you?” she asked, placing a hand on a door “alright. Take all the time you need”. The Phoenix took the key out of the lock and pocketing it.

She turned and walked back to the aircraft and the house. As the blonde neared the building, she noticed a Skrull approaching it. “Oh, no you don’t”, she said and took off towards the green skinned alien. The Phoenix grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.

“Oh, it’s you”, the Skrull said, none too happy to see the one who’d bested him.

“Nice to see you in your normal form…Mr?”

“Talos”, the Skrull supplied.

“Nice to see you in your normal form Talos”, the Phoenix repeated “And you do know there is no way I’m letting you get anywhere near Vers so I suggest you give up right now”.

“You don’t understand. I don’t want to hurt Vers, I actually need her help”, Talos told her. the Phoenix raised a brow, not believing him. “Look, just take me inside and let me talk to her”, he continued “if Vers doesn’t believe me then you can pummel me”.

“I like that plan”, the Phoenix said. She took hold of Talos by the shoulder and dragged him into the house. “Look who I found outside”, she announced to Vers, Fury and Maria “he claims that he only wants to talk to you, Vers”.

“It’s Carol”, other blonde corrected “my real name is Carol”.

“You remember?” the Phoenix asked.

“Little bits and pieces”, the newly named Carol replied “Monica helped with that”.

“Who’s Monica?” the Time Lady questioned.

“She’s my daughter”, Maria glanced out the window only to see herself outside with her little girl “Oh my God. What the hell?”

“No one's gonna hurt the girl”, Talos assured her “Just, don't kill me. That would really complicate the situation”.

“I'm about five seconds from complicating that wall with some ugly-ass Skrull brains”, Fury said, continuing to point his weapon at the Skrull.

“I'm sorry I simmed your boss. But now I stand before you as my true self. Without deception”, Talos said.

“Except your friend is with her daughter”, the Phoenix said nodding to Maria.

“Okay, that's a fair point. But I'm sure that you understand, I had to take some precautions”, Talos stated “can you blame me? I saw Vers…sorry, Carol crush 20 of my best men with her hands bound. And you…Time Lady…”

“My name is the Phoenix but you can call me Nix”, the Phoenix cut in.

“Ok, Nix. YOU bested me very easily. And given those facts, I had to take some measures”, Talos added “but I promise, I just wanna talk”.

"Last time we talked, I ended up hanging from my ankles", Carol reminded him.

"That was before I knew who you were", Talos said, defensively "Before I found what made you different from the others. I have an audio recording from Pegasus, of your voice, from a plane crash six years ago. On a device I believe you call a 'black box'".

Maria frowned "They told me it was destroyed in the crash", she said "How'd you get it?"

"Does she not understand?" Talos asked the others "Young lady I have a special skill that kinda allows me to get into places I'm not supposed to be".

"Call me young lady again, and I'm gonna put my foot in a place it's not supposed to be", Maria threatened.

Confusion appeared on the Skrull's face "Am I supposed to guess where that is?" He questioned.

"Your ass", everyone, including the Phoenix replied.

Talos put his hands up "Okay, I get it. We're all a little on edge here", he said "But look, I just need your help decoding some coordinates. If you sit down, you listen to this, I assure you, it'll be worth your while".

"Call your buddy back inside and I'll listen", Carol said.

"Deal", Talos agreed. Goose wandered in and rubbed herself against his legs. The Skrull rather comically jumped backwards, surprised. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed "Get that thing away! How'd that get in here?"

The Phoenix scooped up Goose. "Aw, you're not a thing are you?" she cooed, stroking her.

"You really shouldn't do that", Talos warned.

"Why? Cos she's a Flerken?" the Phoenix shot back.

"What's a Flerken?" Carol asked.

"A highly dangerous beast", Talos answered, eyeing the feline warily as she stretched in the Time Lady's arms before relaxing.

"She's not so bad", the Phoenix said.

"That's because she likes you", Talos muttered.

"She's also a good incentive for you to behave", the Phoenix countered, having heard him. Monica then walked in with Carol’s old jacket in her hands. She did a double take when she saw her mother standing by her aunt. She glanced back at whom she thought was her mother and saw the Skrull changing back.

“Mom? What’s going on?” Monica asked, confused. Maria explained as best as she could with a little help from, Carol, the Phoenix and Fury. Once that was done, everyone went out to the barn so Carol could listen to the recording. However, Monica was made to stay outside by her mother.

Maria put the CD into the computer and a loading bar appeared. “What's happening?” Carol asked.

“It's loading”, Fury replied. Slowly but surely, the black box recording finished loading and started to play.

 _“Punch in the coordinates. 5229, -47, 8.768, 0.2”_ , Lawson instructed.

 _“Copy that. Where are we going Doc?”_ came Carol’s voice on the recording.

 _“My laboratory”_ , Lawson replied.

A look of contemplation appeared on the Phoenix’s face. Its sounded like Lawson’s lab was in Earth’s orbit. That would’ve been very easy if her TARDIS was alright but since she wasn’t, they’ll have to find another way to get to it. Maybe she could tweak the aircraft to enable it to go into space? The Phoenix, nodded. Yes, that will be there way. It’ll take some time but she was sure that she’ll be able to do it.

The moment the recording finished, Carol marched out of the barn. “He lied to me”, she stated, upset “Everything that I knew was a lie!”

“Now you understand”, Talos said, following her outside.

“What? What do I understand now?” Carol demanded.

“Yon-Rogg killed Mar-Vell. He killed her. Because she found out that she was on the wrong side of an unjust war”, Talos told her.

“No. Your people are terrorists... that kill innocents. I saw the ruins on Torfa”, Carol said adamantly.

“Ruins that the Accusers are responsible for. My people lived as refugees on Torfa”, Talos said “you know what it’s been like for them Nix”, he added, turning to her “you’ve helped some of them”.

The Phoenix shook her head “I think I’d remember if I helped Skrulls”, she said.

“They were in disguise. It was on Hionia…”

“The family of farmers”, the Phoenix breathed “I saved their son from being executed. I…protected their land”.

“And that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of my people. Neither has that word…Ohana, wasn’t it?” Talos asked.

“It was”, the Phoenix confirmed “You’re family is in Mar-Vell’s lab, aren’t they?”

“They are”, Talos answered.

“Alright, I’m in”, the Phoenix said. If Talos’ family was in trouble then she was going to help them and any other Skrulls that needed aid.

“Thank you”, Talos said, grateful “Carol, I can’t do this without you too. Help us help me finish what Mar-Vell started. The coordinates you found, would've powered a lightspeed ship capable of carrying us to safety. A new home, where the Kree can't reach us”.

“Lawson always told us that her work at Pegasus wasn't to fight wars, but to end them”, Maria spoke up.

“She wanted you to help us find the core”, Talos added.

“Well, I already destroyed it”, Carol reminded him.

The Skrull shook his head “No, you destroyed the _engine_. The core that powered it is in a remote location. If you help us decode those coordinates, we can find it”.

“You'll use it to destroy us”, Carol insisted.

“No, they won’t”, the Phoenix said “they just want a home, a safe place to raise their children”.

“Can't you see it now Carol?” Talos asked “You're not one of them”.

“You don't know me. You have no idea who I am. I don't even know who I am!” Carol exclaimed.

“You ARE Carol Danvers”, Maria said, stepping forward “You are the woman on that black box risking her life to do the right thing. My best friend... who supported me as a mother, and a pilot when no one else did. You're smart and funny, and a huge pain in the ass. And you are the most powerful person I knew, way before you could shoot fire from your fist”. Carol smiled, thankful to have her best friend with her.

“You know, those numbers for Mar-Vell’s lab, they aren’t coordinates. They’re state vectors”, the Phoenix pointed out.

“For orbital positioning and velocity”, Fury added.

“You didn't find her lab on Earth, because it's not on Earth”, Maria put in.

“That was the location on the day of the crash six years ago. If we track its course, we'll find it, in orbit, right now”, Carol said.

“It's just basic physics”, Maria stated.

Talos turned to the other Skrull “In orbit?” he repeated “Was that so difficult to figure out? I mean, you're my science guy, right?” the Skrull scientists nods then looks down briefly, disappointed in himself.

“Yon-Rogg will catch up to my soon. We've got to get the core before he does”, Carol said.

“I can modify the aircraft so it can go into space”, the Phoenix offered.

“Do it”, Carol said.

The Time Lady nodded. She turned to the Skrull, pointing at him “You, science guy”, she said “you’re helping”. She didn’t wait for him to respond before heading off to were the aircraft was parked.


	4. Chapter 4

As the Phoenix worked on the aircraft, she felt the eyes Skrull Scientist bore into her. “You know, staring at me isn’t at all productive”, she remarked, turning to him.

“Sorry, it’s just I saw the feather on your necklace and I heard this legend about one of your ancestors being an actual phoenix”, he explained “is it true?”

“Yes, it’s true”, the Phoenix confirmed “it was actually the first Time Lady in my line, the matriarch if you will”, she touched the feather “this was hers. It gets passed down from mother to daughter. I thought it was lost until I found it in a SHIELD warehouse of all things” the Phoenix went back to her work “now, let’s get back to it. We have to get this done before Yon-Rogg gets here”.

It wasn’t long before Talos came to see how they were getting on. “It looks good”, he remarked “will it get us to the lab?”

“Of course it will”, the Phoenix answered “I do know what I’m doing Talos”, she shook her blonde hair out of the pony tail she’d put it in while working on the aircraft “plus I had a good assistant”, she added, nodded to Skrull scientist.

“You know, I really can’t thank you enough for what you did for that family”, Talos said “if there is anything we can do…”

“You don’t need to do anything. I helped them because I wanted to, cos it was the right thing to do”, the Phoenix cut in.

“Still, if there’s anything we can do…anything you need…name it”, Talos said.

“Well, if you really want to ‘repay’ me then how about this: from now we’re allies. Whenever any of your people need help, I will be there and vice versa”.

“Agreed”, Talos said. To have the Phoenix as an ally to himself and his people was a serious win. From what he knew about her, she was the best person/alien to have on their side. He jumped when Goose suddenly rubbed against his legs. “It’s not funny!” he exclaimed when the Time Lady giggled at his reaction.

“It’s a little funny”, the Phoenix said, scooping the Flerkin up “you’re just being friendly to Talos, aren’t you?” she cooed “yes you are”.

“She really should be tossing that thing into the nearest black hole”, Talos muttered to his science guy as they watched the Time Lady walk away, chattering away to Goose.

“Definitely”, the other Skrull agreed.

The Phoenix set Goose down when she reached the clearing where her TARDIS sat. She glanced down at the feather. “Ok, Goose let’s see what this can do”, she said. The Time Lady closed her eyes and focused. Just like the first time, a red-gold glow appeared around her and she started rise up from the ground.

The glow intensified and Goose bolted, light being too bright for her to look at. Suddenly the blonde transformed into a phoenix! She opened her eyes, gaping at this new development. She shifted back and drifted back to the ground, dropping to her knees. The Phoenix felt rather wiped by that very brief change into Taia’s original form. She had no idea how powerful the bird really was but she was betting that it would certainly help against the Kree when they arrive. The Phoenix smirked to herself, they quite literally had a secret weapon: her.

An couple of hours later, they departed for Mar-Vell’s lab. They being the Phoenix, Fury, Talos, Carol, Maria AND Goose. Of course Talos was less than happy about that. “Passing 500 and climbing”, the Time Lady reported. Given her experience, everyone thought she was the best one to pilot the aircraft out of earth’s atmosphere.

“You know, you really shouldn't have that thing on your lap”, Talos remarked eyeing Goose that was on Fury’s lap.

“Our little alliance with you is tenuous at best”, Fury told him “And as long as she continues to freak you out…” he picked up the Flerkin and shoves him towards Talos' face, the Skrull jerking back in his seat “…like that, yeah I'm gonna keep giving her all the love and hugs she needs, right?”

The Phoenix pressed her lips together to prevent a bubble of laughter from erupting. Fury was something else. Not a lot of things seemed to faze him. She could honestly see him becoming Director of SHIELD one day. If that day did come, then he would have an ally in her.

“Can I ask you something? Do you just turn into anything you want?” Maria asked Talos.

“Ah well, I have to see it first”, the Skrull replied.

“Can you all do it?” Maria questioned.

“All Skrulls are physiologically capable”, the Phoenix spoke up “but it does take practice and skill”.

“Can you turn into a cat?” Fury queried.

Talos frowned “What's a cat?”

“An earth based animal”, the Phoenix answered “looks like Goose”. Talos nodded in understanding.

“What about a filing cabinet?” Maria asked.

Talos looked at her confused “Why would I turn into a filing cabinet?”

“Guys come on”, Carol said “you’re distracting Nix”.

“They’re fine Carol”, the Time Lady waving her off “just having a little fun”.

“A Venus fly trap”, Fury challenged “I'll give you $50 right now if you turn into a Venus fly trap”. Talos sighs, annoyed at Fury and Maria.

“Switching engines from Scramjet to fusion. Buckle up, folks”, the Phoenix informed everyone and pushed down a lever, causing the plane to suddenly climb further into the sky and every one was forced back into their seats.

“Hey. Is this normal, like space turbulence?” Fury asked as the aircraft shook while it continued to climb.

“Pretty much”, Carol replied.

“Don’t worry Nick, it’s going to be fine”, the Phoenix assured him. As the aircraft left the Earth’s atmosphere, things inside the plane started to float in the zero gravity. Carol flicked a switch and the gravity turned on. “Locking in coordinate grid”, the Time Lady said.

“Where is it?” Maria asked, getting up from her seat, looking out of the window.

“It's here. It's gotta be here”, Talos said, gazing out at the large expanse of empty space in front of the aircraft.

“Well, is it in front of all that nothing, or behind it?” Fury questioned.

“It’s there, Nick”, the Phoenix said “it’s just cloaked”. Carol used the computer on the sleeve of her suit to bring down the cloaking.

“Now that’s one hell of a lab”, Fury remarked. The Phoenix piloted the aircraft toward Mar-Vell’s lab. She parked it in the hanger where the group disembarked and made their way to the main area of the ship.

“Is that it? The core?” Maria asked eyeing the blue glowing cube sitting in the reactor on one side of a large room.

“In her notes, she called it the Tesseract”, Carol replied. She took it from the reactor, tossing it in the air once and then started to walk around the room, taking in the surroundings. There was a lot of children’s stuff. It seems like Mar-Vell had provided things for the Skrull children to play with.

The Phoenix picked up an unfinished Rubik cube and started to spin it around. Maria took a _The Fonz_ lunchbox and opened it up where Carol popped the Tesseract inside. “So where’s your family, Talos?” the Phoenix asked, looking up from the coloured cube.

“They’re here”, Talos replied and then made a noise, sounded almost like singing. As soon as he did that, several Skrulls appeared. Talos wife, Soren walked over and hugged him. She then gestured for her daughter to join them.

“We didn't know what to do. Mar-Vell warned us not to send a signal for any reason or the Kree would find us”, Soren explained.

“You did the right thing”, Talos told her. Soren then noticed the others in the room. She tried to back away but Talos stops her.

“It's okay, it's okay”, he assured her and nodded to Carol “she is a friend” he also gestured to the Phoenix “this is the Phoenix, she’s also our friend, our ally”. Suddenly the doors burst open and Yon-Rogg stormed in with his Kree team. The Phoenix, dropped the Rubik Cube and moved to stand in front of everyone protectively.

“Leave”, she ordered.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that”, Yon-Rogg said “now get out of our way”.

“No”, the Phoenix said “ _you_ leave, right now before I kick all of your asses. And trust me, I can do it with one hand behind my back”. Yon-Rogg exchanged looks with the other members of his team before they burst out laughing. The Phoenix shut up Carol’s former mentor by blasting him backwards with a little phoenix fire. She held her hands out towards the other Kree in warning. “Unless you want the same treatment”, she said “now, why don’t you scurry back to your ship and leave these good people in peace?” she suggested.

Unbeknownst to the Time Lady, Minn-Erva had slipped in through another door and pointed her rifle at the blonde. She fired. The Phoenix cried out, crumpling to the floor. Chaos then ensued. The Time Lady tried to help but whatever the Kree had shot her with really hurt! She tried to stop herself from passing out from the pain but alas, she couldn’t.

The next thing the Phoenix knew, she in some really strange room. “Where the hell am I?” she asked, getting to her feet.

“With me”, a familiar voice replied. The Time Lady gasped when her mother appeared.

“Mother”, she breathed.

“Not, quite. I’m just borrowing her image for the time being. I’m the Supreme Intelligence”, the woman explained “the AI leader of Hala”.

“This shouldn’t be possible”, the Phoenix said “you shouldn’t be able to work on me”.

“Some modifications where made to the machine so I could talk to you”, the Supreme Intelligence told her “You’re a threat to the Kree”.

“You got that right”, the Phoenix walked forward, eyes blazing angrily “now let me out or so help me I will _burn_ you to the ground”.

The Supreme Intelligence scoffed “with what exactly?” she asked “that power of yours makes you a formidable enemy…to a point but you cannot destroy me”.

Now it was the Phoenix’s turn to scoff “I think you misheard me. I didn’t say I was going to destroy you. I said I was going to BURN you!” The Supreme Intelligence actually took a step back, her eyes wide when the red-gold glow appeared around the Time Lady. “I am the Phoenix! I am the flame that never dies! I protect those who need it and I burn those who deserve it”.

Still glowing, the Phoenix walked towards the Supreme Intelligence. The AI held out a hand, blasting her with green energy. It barely fazed the Time Lady. She just kept moving closer to the Supreme Intelligence. When she was within feet of the AI, it stopped blasting her. The Phoenix smirked at how afraid she seemed to be and let loose. Red-gold energy exploded from her body, crackling in the air like fire.

On the ship, the Time Lady’s eyes flew open and she flung back her captors with the same energy. “Never try to cage me again”, she said to their unconscious forms before running off to find the others.

Fury and Maria gaped at the Phoenix and Carol, who were both glowing, different colours though. “You both know you're glowing, right?” Fury stated.

“Yeah we do”, the Phoenix said, making the red-gold glow disappear.

“I'll explain it later”, Carol said, the Time Lady nodding in agreement. Carol opened up the lunchbox, revealing the Tesseract “Take the Tesseract, leave the lunchbox”, she instructed Fury.

The man raised his brows “Me?” he asked.

“Yes”, Carol replied.

“I'm _not_ touching that thing”, Fury said firmly.

“Shall we get you an oven mitt?” the Phoenix teased with a grin. Suddenly Goose lurched forward in Fury’s arms, large tentacles emerging from her mouth. She swallowed the Tesseract and the black man set Goose down, rather shocked by what she did.

“Did you know she could do that?” Fury asked the Time Lady.

“Yes”, the Phoenix replied “she’s a Flerken”.

“Get the Skrulls in the QuadJet and go”, Carol ordered “Take the Flerken with you. Nix, go with them. Keep them safe”. The Phoenix nodded in agreement.

“What about you?” Maria asked.

“I'll buy you some time”, Carol replied took off.

“I'm picking you up now”, Fury said slowly bending down to pick up Goose “I'm trusting you not to eat me” he straightened up and gave the Phoenix an annoyed look “Why didn’t you say that she could do that?”

“Didn’t seem to be too important”, the Phoenix replied making Fury blink at her, rather surprised by her response “now come on. We’ve got to find those Skrulls”.


	5. Chapter 5

The group came across several Kree which Maria fired at until Goose swallowed them up. “Okay”, Maria said slowly.

“Good kitty”, Fury said scratching Goose behind the ears.

“Really good kitty”, the Phoenix grinned at the Flerken. They started off when more Kree appeared behind them.

“Hey! In a hurry?” one of them called. Maria, Fury and the Phoenix turned around.

“Yeah, just a little”, the Phoenix said sarcastically “I don’t suppose you would mind putting down your weapons and surrendering?” she suggested “No? Ok”. The Time Lady fired a red-gold blast at each of the Kree soldiers, except the one who’d spoken. “Nice disguise Talos”, she remarked.

Fury and Maria looked at her, surprised. “How did you know it was him?” Fury asked.

“If he was a real Kree, he would’ve shot first, said something later”, the Time Lady replied.

Talos smiled “you’re good”, he commented “Do you have the thing?”

“Flerken kitty ate it”, Fury answered. The group made their way to the hanger where four Kree soldiers were escorting the Skrulls onto the ship.

“Cover her eyes”, Talos said quietly to Soren who covered her daughter’s eyes. He then shot all the Kree. “Get on the ship. Let's go, let's go!” he urged to the Skrulls. They hurried onto the ship, the Phoenix covering their escape blocking the Kree’s shots with her phoenix fire.

She cried out when one of the shots that she missed, catching her in the side. Fury ran forward, grabbing her, slinging an one of her arms around his shoulders and took her into the ship. “Are you alright?” he asked taking her to the co-pilot’s chair.

“I’ll live”, the Time Lady replied “but now I’m really pissed”.

“Save it for later”, Maria advised “cos I think we’re going to need it”. She started up the aircraft and flew away from the lab. It wasn’t long before the Kree came after them, shooting at them. Thanks to Maria’s nifty flying she managed to get behind Minn-Erva’s pod and destroyed.

“Nice flying”, the Phoenix commented with a grin.

“Thanks”, Maria said, returning her smile. Unfortunately, their relief is short lived when they saw a very large ship suddenly appear.

“That’s not good”, Fury said. If it wasn’t bad enough, the ship started firing missiles “that’s really not good!”

“Get this ship to safety”, the Phoenix ordered, starting to glow red-gold “I’ll deal with them”.

“What are you going to do?” Fury asked.

“Unleash the phoenix”, the Time Lady answered simply. She made her way to the back on of the craft.

“Good luck”, Talos said as she waited for the ramp to lower enough for her to get out.

“They’re the ones who need luck Talos”, the Phoenix said “see you on the flip side”. She then dove out of the aircraft. The glow intensified as she fell before she was once again changed into the phoenix. She flew up towards the missiles being joined by Carol. Together they turned one of the missiles around, sending it back towards the others causing them to explode one by one.

The pair flew through the fire and when they emerged, the Phoenix was ablaze. Not that the fire hurt her, she was descended from a being born of fire after all. The spaceship deploys several drones which were no match for the combined powers of Carol and the Phoenix. They then plowed through one of the Kree ships, completely obliterating it. The pair hovered in front of the window of the one of the ships, the Phoenix changing back into her Time Lady form.

Ronan looked at the two females and their impressive display of power. “Return to the jump point. We'll be back for the weapon”, he ordered.

“The core?” one of the Accusers asked.

“The women”, Ronan corrected. Carol and the Phoenix watched as the remaining Kree ships retreated. The two of them returned to Earth where Yon-Rogg’s pod had crashed after Carol made that happen. The Time Lady fell to her knees, exhausted.

“Are you ok?” Carol asked her.

“Yeah”, the Phoenix panted “just wiped. That took a lot out of me”, she admitted.

“Why don’t you rest?” Carol suggested “while I’ll deal with Yon-Rogg”.

“There’s no way I’m staying back while you kick his ass”, the Phoenix said, getting to her feet. Carol supported her as they made their way to where the Kree was. He started to point his gun at them but then he put it away.

“I'm so proud of you”, he said to Carol “You've come a long way since I found you that day by the lake. But can you keep your emotions in check long enough to take me on? Or will it get the better of you, as always? I always told you... you'll be ready, the day you can knock me down as yourself. This is that moment. This is that moment, Vers!” he raised his fists, preparing to fight her “Turn off the light show, and prove, prove to me, you can beat me without...”

Carol shoots Yon-Rogg with a small blast and the Phoenix smirked at her response. The two of them walked towards as the Kree tried to crawl backwards, afraid. “Carol has nothing to prove to you”, the Time Lady said to him, pushing her tiredness aside. “This IS her true self, powers and all” she turned to Carol “permission to do something?”

“Sure”, Carol replied. The Phoenix grabbed Yon-Rogg’s hand and dragged him back to his pod. She stuffed him inside and programmed it for go back to Hala.

“I can't go back empty-handed”, Yon-Rogg said.

“Oh, you won’t be going back empty handed”, the Phoenix told him “I’m sending you back with a message. You tell the Supreme Intelligence that I, the Phoenix, ally to the Skrulls and Carol Danvers is coming to end it”.

“And I will be getting in on that action too”, Carol added.

“You two can't do this”, Yon-Rogg insisted.

“Yes. We can”, the Phoenix shot back “and we will”. She started up the pod, using the phoenix fire to kick start it. The pair watched the pod take off into the sky.

In the Quadjet, Fury was holding Goose in front of his face, cooing to her. “That was a close call, huh, Goosey? Huh? The bad guy's still in there somewhere” the Flerken swiped at his eye with her paw “Oh! MOTHER FLERKEN!!!”

“You okay?” Maria asked him, worriedly.

“Yeah. It's just a scratch”, Fury assured her. Talos shook his head, knowing that is was more serious.

\-------------------

Several hours later they were at Maria’s house, enjoying dinner. “I can't believe you got into the raddest dogfight ever”, Carol said to her friend as they talked about what had happened.

“I'd say you arrived just in time”, Maria said.

“That's some nifty flying you did out there”, Fury remarked “SHIELD could always use a good pilot like you”.

“I'll consider it”, Maria said “As long as you don't call my flying nifty again”.

“How's your eye, Nick?” the Phoenix asked Fury.

“Getting better every second”, he replied.

“Just so I'm clear, you were Soh-Larr, and the SHIELD agent?” Carol questioned.

“Keller. Tied my boss up, stole his identity”, Fury spoke up before Talos could say anything.

“I borrowed his likeness. I'm no thief”, Talos insisted.

“It is kinda like stealing Talos”, the Phoenix said with a smile “I mean, you didn’t exactly ask for their permission”. Suddenly she felt her TARDIS key heat up and took it out to see it glowing.

“What does that mean?” Carol asked her.

“It means that my ship is finally ready”, the Phoenix replied. She stood up from the table “it was really nice to meet all of you and Talos, I will be more than happy to help you guys look for a home. After I take my ship for a spin”. The Time Lady bid them all goodbye and walked out of the house.

“Nix, wait!” Fury called, running after her.

“What is it, Nick?” the Phoenix asked.

“Take Goose with you, please”, he begged “I cannot look after that Flerken”.

The Phoenix placed a hand on his shoulder “Nick, you are the best person to take care of her. Despite the fact that she hurt you. Plus she’s yet to cough up the Tesseract and there’s no one I’d trust more with it”, she said. She took the pager out of her pocket and handed it over to him.

“What have you done to it?” Fury asked, looking it over. It was definitely different to when he’d been forced to hand it over.

“Made some modifications”, the Phoenix replied “it’ll reach me whenever or wherever I am in time and space. Plus it’ll help you get in contact with Carol”.

“But it’s for emergencies only”, Carol said firmly.

“For me, you can call me anytime you need help, ok?” the Phoenix said to Fury “now you two are going to wanna watch this”. Carol and Fury watched her enter the TARDIS, pushing the door closed. Maria and the others came out when the engine’s started up.

“Now that is pretty cool”, Fury commented as the ship vanished.

\---------

A month later…

Fury walked into his office, rubbing his face tiredly. He had been trying to get the SHIELD higher ups to take interest in his Avengers Initiative but they didn't want to know.

He stopped when her saw the Phoenix at his desk, feet propped up. "Hey Nick", she greeted "miss me?"

"I called you a month ago", Fury said tapping her feet, signalling that he wanted then off the desk.

"Sorry, I was a little preoccupied helping a friend out of a situation", the Time Lady said "but I'm here now, so what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, for starters you shouldn't have been able to get in here", Fury said "but I can guess how, psychic paper".

"I said that I couldn't make any promises", the Phoenix reminded him "so what is the real reason you wanted me here?"

"Goose coughed up the Tesseract", Fury answered "and I'd like it if you could take her off my hands".

"Still not trusting her?" The Time Lady questioned, getting up from the desk and going over to where Goose was chilling out.

"I can tell you now, that is the last time I trust anyone", Fury said.

"Oh, don’t be silly. Just cos Goose took your eye doesn't mean you can't trust anyone ever again", the Phoenix said, picking up the Flerken "you'll have to eventually" she made her way over to the door "and speaking of trust. I'm trusting YOU to keep the Tesseract safe. If I find out that you've let it get taken, the will be hell to pay". The Time Lady opened the door and walked out of his office. Fury headed to his desk and sat down. No sooner had he powered up his computer when the office door opened again. The Phoenix stuck her head in "Oh, your Avengers thing sounds promising. I wish you luck with it. and good choice of name for me by the way: Firebird. I like it". She gave him one last smile before pulling the door shut.


	6. epilogue

Life in the TARDIS was a bit more interesting now that she had Goose travelling with her. Enemies definitely thought twice when they saw the Flerken. The years passed and companions came and went but one thing stayed constant, her furry friend Goose.

Then one day, everything changed and all it took was a message on her scanner. The Phoenix backed up until she reached her chair and sank down into it. Goose hopped up next to her, looking at her worriedly. “I didn’t think this was ever going to happen Goose”, she murmured “my people…we’re at war” she ran a hand through her hair and sighed “and they want me to come home to fight” the Phoenix glanced down at Goose “what should I do?”

The Flerken meowed at her in response. The Phoenix let out a laugh at it “of course you want me to ‘kick the ass’ of whomever our enemy is. Alright” she stood up “buckle up Goose. We’re going to war”. The Time Lady went over to the console and piloted the TARDIS to the one place she didn’t think she would be going back to: Gallifrey.

However, when she exited the TARDIS, she was met with a few Time Lords in solder type gear and Rassilon. “Oh, look it’s the wicked witch and her winged monkeys”, the Time Lady sassed.

Rassilon gave her an unamused look “still as sarcastic as always Phoenix”, he remarked “I also see that you’ve been united with Taia’s feather” he stepped forward “that’s a real shame”.

“Why?” the Phoenix asked, getting a real bad feeling.

“We don’t want anyone being too overpowered”, Rassilon replied. Before the Time Lady could stop him, he raised his gloved hand and used it on her. The Phoenix screamed and collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Rassilon walked up to her prone form and tore the phoenix feather from her necklace. “Pick her up”, he ordered the Time Lords “we need to wipe her memory and suppress her powers”. Two Time Lords grabbed the Phoenix by the arms and dragged her off. Rassilon looked to the orange sky “and so the war begins”.

\----------------

A bloodied and bruised Phoenix stumbled out of the wreckage of the building she’d taken cover in, before the Daleks went and blew it up. The Time Lady hissed in pain at the nasty gash in her side. She pressed a hand against it and started to limp away. The Phoenix barely made it two steps before she crumpled to the floor. The blonde slowly pushed herself up which was when she noticed her hand start to shimmer gold. “Not now”, she said. She couldn’t regenerate now! It was hardly the place. She needed somewhere safe and fast.

The Phoenix hauled herself to her feet and continued on her way. She shuffled around some more ruins and let out a sob of relief when she saw her TARDIS sitting there. The blonde silently thanked all the deities that she knew for her ship to be where it was. The Phoenix gritted her teeth and forced herself onwards.

The TARDIS’ door opened as soon as she reached it. “Thanks girl”, she said, gratefully. With quite a bit of effort, the Phoenix sent the ship into the time vortex and then she succumbed to the regeneration. The Time Lady grew taller by a few inches and her blonde hair got thicker and longer. “Oh, I feel so much better”, she said, rolling her shoulders. The Phoenix heard a meow behind her and turned around to see Goose standing there, looking at her quizzically. “Its me Goose. I may look different but I promise, I’m still me”, she assured the Flerken. The Time Lady knelt down, holding her hand out. Goose padded forward and sniffed her outstretched fingers. The blonde smiled at the feline rubbed her head against her hand, purring. It looked like Goose had accepted it _was_ her.

“So, I’ve just regenerated and I feel like I need to get out there and figure out who this new me is”, the Phoenix said, standing up with Goose in her arms “and I’ll leave it to you to decide where we go first”.

Goose meowed and the Phoenix looked at her, brow raised “you want to set it to random?” she asked “alright then”. The Time Lady set the controls to random and the TARDIS raced through the time vortex towards the unknown location to begin the next chapter of their lives. 


End file.
